# Old news story: Chrysler unhappy with use of word 'Jeep' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564 "2007-08-14T15:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/21 "2016-06-02T19:52:25Z")
I know everyone has been wondering about his, but [here’s the story](http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20119934,00.html). People Magazine, April 3, 1989. (Yeah, I was off on the date.) And [a follow-up](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19891003&id=UjAxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AQMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6538,379988&hl=en) from several months later, Chrysler let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/22 "2016-06-02T23:24:19Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > … like that of the Boy Scouts of America (which, IIRC, will not allow gay people in its ranks). That’s outdated. The Boy Scouts now allow gays to join (and to pay the fees for belonging). They just won’t allow gays to be Leaders or employees (where they get paid by the organization). Such is progress (and profit). ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/23 "2016-06-02T23:37:21Z")
actually if I remember correctly the creator of popeye and his heirs and amc had a running battle because of Eugene the magic jeep was trade marked before vehicle existed , ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/24 "2016-06-02T23:38:37Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > That’s outdated. Well, considering the post is from 2007, not surprising. ---
**Author:** ![bb49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bb49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bb49)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/25 "2016-06-03T01:35:52Z")
I would have to go to Jeep’s Bar and get really drunk before I bought a Jeep. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/26 "2016-06-03T01:42:03Z")
[/hijack] So what happened to Jeep’s Bar? Jeep is a name in The Netherlands and he was not competing with the cars. My understanding is that a TM protects only from competitors in your business. If my name were MacDonald, I could not open a hambuger joint or even a restaurant under that name. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/27 "2016-06-03T13:19:05Z")
Jeep retired, and is, as best I can tell, still living in Yuma AZ. I don’t know whether his bar in Alpine, Wyoming still survives, though. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/28 "2016-06-03T13:55:00Z")
While the OP is from 2007, and the topic’s been settled, this type of thing always reminds me of [Groucho Marx’s letter to Warner Brothers](https://archive.org/details/Groucho_Marx_Letter_to_Warner_Brothers). Probably apocryphal, but it makes for a great story. > [@](#): > > You claim that you own Casablanca and that no one else can use that name without permission. What about “Warner Brothers”? Do you own that too? You probably have the right to use the name Warner, but what about the name Brothers? Professionally, we were brothers long before you were. We were touring the sticks as the Marx Brothers when Vitaphone was still a gleam in the inventor’s eye, and even before there had been other brothers - the Smith Brothers; the Brothers Karamazov; Dan Brothers, an outfielder with Detroit; and Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?.. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/29 "2016-06-03T18:51:49Z")
Interesting. _My_ Jeep is a bar and lounge. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/30 "2016-06-03T19:19:00Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > actually if I remember correctly the creator of popeye and his heirs and amc had a running battle because of Eugene the magic jeep was trade marked before vehicle existed , Yeah, Eugene the Jeep first appeared in 1936. But the first vehicle trademark owner would have been Willys Overland, who registered the trademark in 1950. By that time, the owner of Popeye was Famous Studios, a subsidiary of Paramount, who had bought out Fleischer Studios. Come to that, if the car company was so sensitive, how come they didn’t sue Eric Clapton over the name of his dog? ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/31 "2016-06-03T19:58:35Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > But the first vehicle trademark owner would have been Willys Overland, who registered the trademark in 1950. How do you register a trademark for a term that had been in generic use for an entire decade? Did the PTO forget about the war? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/32 "2016-06-03T20:10:03Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > How do you register a trademark for a term that had been in generic use for an entire decade? Did the PTO forget about the war? Willys designed the Jeep for the Army. The source of the term “Jeep” for the military version is debated, possibly from pronunciation of “GP”, possibly after “Eugene the Jeep” from the Popeye cartoons, or some other explanation. At any rate, it was being applied to something that was already Willys Overland’s product, so they were just making it official. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/33 "2016-06-03T20:14:35Z")
Ah, okay. Is there a similar story with Hummer? It comes from HMMWV, or “High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle”. I thought that sort of dry military acronym would be the last thing to inspire trademarks and brand names. But apparently someone owns that trademark, too. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/34 "2016-06-03T20:43:50Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > How do you register a trademark for a term that had been in generic use for an entire decade? Did the PTO forget about the war? And Apple? How can anyone trademark Apple Computers or Apple Music? Didn’t the PTO hear of the Garden of Eden? Sheesh.🙂 Just because a word exists doesn’t mean it can’t be part of a trademark. Not all trademarks are Kodak and Xerox and such. As to Jeep vehicles vs. Jeep’s Bar or whatever, you trademark a product (or design, etc.). To have a case, you have to prove something like confusion in the market (Do people think the bar is a vehicle?) or dilution (do they think Jeep/Chrysler owns the bar?), etc. In this situation, it’s a weak and stupid case. Esp. since the word predated the taking of the trademark. But just don’t go calling your bar the Xerox Place. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/35 "2016-06-03T21:41:54Z")
If you remember the TV series _Dallas_, the name “Ewing Oil” might come to mind. There was actually a fellow in the oil business with the name “Ewing”. He started, or had started a Ewing Oil business. The Court said he had the right to use his name and the type of business in his business name, but he did NOT have the right to sell hats, belt buckles, ties, etc. with “Ewing Oil” blazoned across them. Then there was the Apple Music (Beatles) v Apple Computer. One deal in music, the other in computers, so no confusion - it wasn’t like computers were going to get into music, after all… ---
**Author:** ![andrewm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@andrewm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewm)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564/36 "2016-06-04T01:32:59Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Then there was the Apple Music (Beatles) v Apple Computer. > One deal in music, the other in computers, so no confusion Apple Corps sued Apple Computer / Apple repeatedly over this: [Apple Corps v Apple Computer - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-news-story-chrysler-unhappy-with-use-of-word-jeep/415564.md?page=1)